My campus gym has decided to stop letting me do the full lifts, so I've purchased my own set to lift at home. Because of my schedule, I'd like to do a morning workout at the gym, consisting of squats/presses/pulls, then a late afternoon workout of snatch/c&j/complexes.

Is there some kind of secret to splitting it up like this? Could I take a training cycle like the Front Squat Emphasis and split it like this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Manuel Buitrago

06-14-2013 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James Brennan
(Post 99889)

My campus gym has decided to stop letting me do the full lifts, so I've purchased my own set to lift at home. Because of my schedule, I'd like to do a morning workout at the gym, consisting of squats/presses/pulls, then a late afternoon workout of snatch/c&j/complexes.

Is there some kind of secret to splitting it up like this? Could I take a training cycle like the Front Squat Emphasis and split it like this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

The first step in this kind of training is to simply split up your current workload over both sessions. So if you do 4 movements, do two in the morning and two in the afternoon. Its tempting to add more due to the break but you might end up doing too much volume too early than you can recover from.

There are different ways to break things up. Some will do strength work in one session, technical work in the other. Or you can some strength and some technical work each session. Or some break things up along other parameters (e.g. volume in one session, intensity in the other). Where you put these is dependent on the program you are splitting up and the time where you feel best mentally and physically for the task at hand.

Blake Barnes

06-14-2013 04:23 PM

If your just starting to go twice a day, you want to ease your way into it. You don't want to do something in the morning that's going to wear you out make you not want to train for the afternoon.

I would suggest just doing some light work in the morning and your full training session in the afternoon. For example -- mobility, flexibility, foam roll/soft tissue work, and maybe some technique drills with an empty barbell in the morning; then do your full workout for the afternoon.

Keep in mind, whatever your "real life" endeavors include (work, school, travel, etc) will have an affect on your training.

Tamara Reynolds

06-14-2013 05:42 PM

At a minimum, our lifters who are doing two sessions a day are doing two heavy squat sessions. Statistically, people set as many PRs in their second squat session as in their first. If people have time, they do two full sessions, maybe alternating power versus full lifts to make one session lighter. You adapt. That's how humans work.

James Brennan

06-14-2013 08:59 PM

Thank you for the replies. Now I understand the need to be watchful about too much volume too fast.

I'm still not clear on how to split things up, however. For example, in the double day squats cycle recently posted, looking at day 1, would you:

Maybe I'm thinking about this too much and need to just figure out what works for me. I'm still fairly new to this though (little over the year mark) and don't want to shoot myself in the foot with inefficient programming.

Blake Barnes

06-14-2013 10:08 PM

You have the right idea with the volume. As you ease your way into training twice a day, you should be able to adapt and take on more strenuous training sessions. Although, if you push the heavy squatting twice in a day continuously, those adaptations will quickly turn into injuries if your not too careful.

The human body does adapt as Tamara said but the human body can only take so much. If we just continued to adapt and grow without ever breaking down then we would be all be snatching/C&J world records all the time.

Those European country's programs may show them going heavy twice a day but keep in mind that they have been training since they were 12 years old, all they do is train, eat and sleep, and there's a good chance they have a special substance that's helping them recover a lot faster.

Your commitment is admirable just remember to be smart about your periodization. Also make sure you are taking the extra steps for recovery (i.e. diet, sleep, ice baths etc).

Kucheryavenko Alexey

06-15-2013 03:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James Brennan
(Post 99889)

My campus gym has decided to stop letting me do the full lifts, so I've purchased my own set to lift at home. Because of my schedule, I'd like to do a morning workout at the gym, consisting of squats/presses/pulls, then a late afternoon workout of snatch/c&j/complexes.

Is there some kind of secret to splitting it up like this? Could I take a training cycle like the Front Squat Emphasis and split it like this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

In the gym (in Russian) where I have been a girl (now coach) trained two times a day, getting ready for a competition like this (MSIC - master of sports of international class):
morning: squats, bending, traction and other auxiliary exercises (weight of 60-80%)
evening: full training - snatch, etc. and etc.. depending on the day of the week - specific program (leap day, it starts to jerk broach the day with a sensible push broach well, etc.)

Matt Foreman

07-03-2013 10:19 PM

One easy way to split up your workouts is to do your squats in the morning, and then your competition lifts (SN, C&J) in the afternoon. Most of the times when I've done doubles, it's been like this. I've known a lot of other lifters who have too.